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Canada (Lester B. Pearson)/Civilopedia
Canada Canada's history is several thousand years old, but in the past thousand years or so, more people have arrived and prospered in the nation than ever before. Leif Ericsson discovered Canada around 1000 AD, making it the first part of America to have been discovered from outside. Years passed, and Ericsson's settlements were no more. In 1492, Columbus rediscovered America, and soon enough, the major European powers were ready to get a spot there. France quickly colonised Quebec and renamed the area to New France, but soon they got wrecked by British Imperialism and lost the province, although a lot of Quebecoises still want independence (just not enough to actually get it). Canada remained a major British colony, and even when the United States got independence, Canada remained with Britain. Even through the World Wars, they remained a loyal ally. Canada today is one of the best devoloped countries in the world. 'Climate and Terrain' Canada is the second-largest country in the world, and also has the longest coastline. Most of Northern Canada is uninhabitable due to the vast amount of tundra and snow, so the population is mainly focused in the south, although the world's most northern settlement is in Canada. There are a lot of volcanoes in Canada, and it is generally very geologically active. Canada also yields the most lakes in the world, and several mountain ranges run throughought the country. Canada's temperature varies considerably, especially in the east coast, where the winters are very cold, and summers are very warm. This is to do with sea currents, as none of them affect Canadian weather there directly, making it snow quite often during the winter months. During this time, Canadians have to find the best method of transport, as cars may no longer be a viable option. 'Colonization' Before the British came to colonise Canada, there were many tribes there, which I won't go into detail about because that means less material for the First Nations civs. Anyway, the French managed to get a couple of colonies around the place, while England decided to found St John's on Newfoundland. The French established new colonies in Canada and did some fur trading, while the English decided to colonise a ton of stuff south of Canada, and what do you know, that became the USA. England became the British Empire, and they decided to focus more on their colonies. By this time, Newfoundland was looking pretty good, and they had a good couple of colonies around the place. However, they wanted more. Looking over the ocean, they saw the French, happily building away at their colonies, and creating New France. The instant destruction of it was now required for the glory of the British Empire. 'New France' New France was effectively founded by Jacques Cartier when he decided to claim pretty much the whole of Canada for the French. He stuck a cross in the ground, saying "Long Live the King of France", and that was about it. Soon enough, French fur traders were thriving in the region, known now as "Voyageurs". They had explored most of the Hudson Bay, the Great Lakes, and even Louisiana. They even made some gains in the Beaver Wars (more about the fur trade and not so much about beavers). French Canada, unquestionable, right? Well, nope. Soon enough, Britain wanted their own parts of the landmass. War broke out soon enough, in 1689. And three more times, before Britain and France decided that France would get Quebec, and Britain could have pretty much everything else. It continued this way for some time. Then Britain decided that they might as well have Quebec as well. 'The Struggle for Canada' In 1756, the Seven Years' War properly broke out between Britain, France, and their allies. At the start, it was mainly focused in Europe, but spread to the colonies over - wait for it - fur trade. Yup. Yet again, the French wanted to keep their fur trade stock open, so they started another war. Most of the settlements that Britain and France had in the colonies were forts, rendering them somewhat hard to take. However, there was a third group - the Iroquois. They were getting pretty annoyed with the French and British settling their lands, but instead of fighting them, they just got them really mad at each other so that they would be too busy fighting each other to fight the Iroquois, giving them the title of "Diplo Master Supreme". Back in the day, George Washington was in the British army, and lead several raids to destroy French settlements. A few years later, in 1759, General Wolfe managed to take Quebec. He died in the process, but aside from that, he effectively claimed Quebec as British land. 'War of 1812' George Washington decided that the United States was better off independent, so eventually a ton of stuff happened and we're left with the USA, which is important because they invaded Canada in 1812, perhaps part of the reason why the conflict is now known as the "War of 1812". The US troops crossed the border into Canada, having previously signed a Declaration of War against Britain. They attacked a couple of forts, and a couple of British ships, but aside from that, they mostly did nothing. As the Napoleonic Wars were raging in Europe, Britain didn't do much either and left the Canadians to hold out. Once Britain had finished with Napoleon, they decided to come over to the USA. Instead of just fighting them, they fought them and burnt down the White House, due in no small part to Canada. It's painted white today just to cover up the burns. The war is more widely remembered in Canada than Britain, as they had some more important stuff (Napoleon) to worry about. 'Industrialisation and Immigration' Over the 19th century, Canada expanded throughout the plains, and soon became the largest British colony. The Canadian Pacific Railway was constructed, giving far better access to Canada's Pacific coast than ever before. During this time, merchants still prospered from the fur trade, and better yet, Canada's population was growing due to a new influx of European immigrants, especially from the British Isles. Soon enough, a lot of the land was settled for farming use, and the nation was at its best - an industrialised, yet rural nation. While most Canadian land isn't used, they have a lower population than most states to support, thus rendering it unnecessary to have a large industrial workforce, although the eastern provinces did become a lot more industrialised than the ones in the west. The Mounted Police Force was also set up in this time to keep order in the more rural areas of the nation. 'Independence and World Wars' Canada got its interdependence in 1901, and John A. MacDonald was elected the first Prime Minister. Canada was doing fantastic, but they still had very close ties to Britain. When the First World War came, Canada joined on Britain's side almost immediately, and began forming units to serve with the Brits. Canada saw action at the Somme, and eventually forced the Germans away from Belgium. This helped to put the new state onto the world stage. During the 1930s, Canada suffered from the Great Depression. However, Canada was able to persevere through this, and came out an altogether better state. In 1939, Canada declared war of Germany three days after Britain, and the first of their troops arrived in Britain just two months later. Canada helped largely in the war, and at D-Day, they made the furthest advancements at their beach-head, beating Britain and the USA. Soon enough, Canadian troops marched on Berlin to free the people from facism. 'Modern Canada' Today, Canada is one of the most developed countries in the world. It has a mostly free healthcare service, a very high standard of living, and is so much so that it is often rated the best country in the world, or at least very highly, in opinion polls. It is still a democratic state, although the head of state is still Queen Elisabeth II of the United Kingdom. Canada also participates in the Commonwealth Games, along with other former British colonies, such as Australia, New Zealand and India, also having hosted it several times. Internationally, Canadians are widely stereotyped, often for apologising a lot, holding doors open and for saying "Eh?" as well, although most Canadians deny the stereotypes. Throughout the years, Canada has grown, prospered and become one of the greatest states in the world, being internationally recognised through organisations such as the UN and G8 as a large player in world affairs. Canada has strived for the best for the people at all times, and should they continue this, Canada should for evermore prosper. 'Factoids' In Churchill, next to Hudson Bay, people leave their cars unlocked most of the time. This isn't just forgetful or lazy; it's because if a polar bear comes to the town, people's best chance is to get in a car to escape. Although Canada is often treated as a "peaceful" nation, especially compared to its neighbour, the United States of America, it entered both World Wars before it and has also taken part in most major conflicts. Lester B. Pearson 'Early Life' On the 23rd of April 1897, Lester Bowles Pearson was born in Toronto. Aged 16, he graduated from Hamilton Colligaite and went to Victoria Collage. Pearson was soon involved heavily in sports, and excelled in basketball and rugby, as well as playing golf, baseball and ice hockey. When the First World War broke out in 1914, Pearson joined the Canadian Army, and fought in Egypt and Greece, and even spent some time serving along with the Serbians. In 1917, he joined the Air Force, and was subsequently given the nickname "Mike", as "Lester" was considered too mild for an airman. From then on, friends and family always knew him as Mike. In 1918, Pearson was transferred back to Canada after being hit by a bus. 'Diplomacy' After the war, Pearson received his Bachelor of the Arts degree, and soon went on to work in the meat-packing industry, which he soon left. Pearson later got a degree in history, and want on to become a history teacher at the University of Toronto, where he also coached a hockey team. Soon enough, though, Pearson got into the Canadian Foreign Affairs department, and was assigned to London. He stayed there for half of the Second World War, and soon managed to get a job in the Canadian Embassy in Washington D.C. In 1944, he became the Canadian Ambassador to the United States, but he left this job in 1946 to go into the wider diplomatic service. 'United Nations' Lester B. Pearson had a large part in the founding of NATO and the UN. Pearson did a lot with these organisations, and almost became the first UN Secretary General, but this was vetoed by the Soviet Union. Due to Pearson's good political skill, William Mackenzie King (the Canadian Prime Minister) tried to recruit him into the government, but Pearson refused due to dislike of King's policies. In 1948, he got a seat in the Canadian parliament, but he still continued his role with the United Nations. In 1956, the Suez Crisis broke out over Nasser's plans to nationalise the waterway. Britain and France, along with an Israeli army, attacked the region, even though Egypt was backed by the Soviet Union. Pearson was sent in to keep the peace, and before long, he had resolved the crisis for the most part. It is for this that he is considered "the father of modern peacekeeping" 'Politics of Canada' In 1956, Pearson was elected leader of the Canadian Liberal Party. He became Leader of the Opposition, and in his first Parliamentary session, he told the Prime Minister to give power back to the Liberals due to a recent economic fault. However, this soon backfired on Pearson, and the next election cost the Liberals over half their seats in parliament. However, Pearson did some planning for the next election over a few significant meetings, and in 1963 he was elected Prime Minister, mainly due to some mistakes made by the government. Pearson's time as Prime Minister saw a vast amount of changes in social welfare, including national health care, a minimum wage, pension plans and student loans, among other things. Pearson's time in power was overall dedicated to equality, as people had equal health care, immigrants were not given any advantage or disadvantage based on their race, and French was even made an official language. Pearson retired from politics in 1967, but continued to be an effective voice. 'Judgement of History' Lester B. Pearson's legacy is mostly about the vast amount of policies he implemented to make Canada a better state, and overall, the country it is today. Even before he was in the post of Prime Minister, he was doing Peacekeeping missions, and today a prize, the "Pearson Medal of Peace", is given out to recognise a Canadian that has contributed greatly to international society, like Pearson, who made significant progress in Canadian - American relations. Pearson serves as an example to a lot of people, shown by his Nobel Peace Prize that he was awarded after solving the Suez crisis. Pearson's legacy truly lies in his ability to communicate with all, and to generally make the world a better place. 'Factoids' The current Canadian flag (the one with the maple leaf and the two red stripes at the side and the white stripe down the middle) was designed by Lester B. Pearson as part of his policies, and was later implemented while he was in government. Unique Compenents 'Great Voyageur' The Voyageurs were people who engaged in the transporting of furs by canoe during the fur trade era. Voyageur is a French word, which literally means "traveler". 'Hudson's Bay House' The Hudson''s Bay Company was one of two major trading companies in what is now Canada. They had exclusive trading rights over all the land that ran into the Hudson's Bay, which turned out to be an area bigger than most countries and even a continent. The Hudson's Bay Company constructed many trading forts, several of which became Canada''s largest and oldest cities. Today, the Hudson''s Bay Company survives as The Bay, Canada's oldest department store chain.'' 'Garrison Artillery' The Garrison Artillery was a key component of the British military. It served cities and forts, and defended them in times of need. They were used a lot in Canada, as Britain had a large amount of forts than needed defence, making the Garrison Artillery even more useful. They were effectively fixed in place while in forts or other settlements, and would simply bombard anyone who tried to come near. They were particularly effective as they were fairly strong and very hard to take down while in a fort, so invaders would have a hard time getting past them. 'Avro Arrow' Looks amazingly cool and brings with it the ghosts of conspiracy theories. Also a superior interceptor, that will keep your skies free of enemy aircraft. City-States 'Nuuk' Nuuk is the capital and largest city in Greenland. 'St. John's' St. John's, Newfoundland, is the provicial capital of Newfoundland. Newfoundland did not become a province of Canada until the end of World War II, far after the age of Canada as a Colonial entity. Category:Civilopedia Entries